JP2001150939A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner for a vehicle capable of widening a space in an inside of an engine room. SOLUTION: A condenser 2 is provided in a lower side of a bottom face of the vehicle C, in the air conditioner wherein a compressor 1 for delivering a gasesous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure, the condenser 2 for exchanging heat between the gasesous refrigerant of the high temperature and high pressure and the outside air, an expansion valve (expansion mechanism) 3 for conducting pressure reduction and expansion of the liquid refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure, and an evaporator 4 for exchanging heat between the liquid refrigerant of low temperarue and low pressure and in-cabin air are connected by a refrigerant pipe 8 to form a refrigerating cycle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner that provides a comfortable vehicle interior environment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle air conditioner, main components of a refrigeration cycle for cooling and dehumidifying (cooling operation) air to be air-conditioned include a compressor for compressing and sending a gas refrigerant, and a high-temperature high-pressure gas. There are a condenser that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the outside air, an expansion mechanism (expansion valve) that decompresses and expands the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and an evaporator that exchanges heat between the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant and the conditioned air. The components are connected by a refrigerant pipe or the like to form a closed circuit in which the refrigerant circulates. In a heating operation for heating air to be air-conditioned, a heater core that uses a part of engine cooling water (warm water) circulating to a radiator as a heating source is generally used.

[0003]

Incidentally, in the case of a general vehicle air conditioner installed in a passenger car or the like, a compressor and a condenser are installed inside an engine room,
The evaporator is installed in the front part of the cabin. The condenser is provided adjacent to the radiator, and is cooled together with the radiator by the outside air introduced into the engine room. In such a vehicle air conditioner, the volume occupied by the air conditioner in the engine room has been reduced due to the requirements for increasing the size of the engine room, the freedom of layout in the engine room, and the layout of the vehicle drive unit. Is an issue.

[0004] In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle that can secure a wider space inside an engine room.

[0005]

An air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention comprises: a compressor for delivering a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant;
A condenser for exchanging heat between the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant and the outside air, an expansion mechanism for decompressing and expanding the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and an evaporator for exchanging heat between the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant and the vehicle interior air. In a vehicle air conditioner formed by connecting a refrigerant pipe to form a refrigeration cycle, the condenser is provided below a bottom surface of the vehicle body.

In this vehicle air conditioner, since the condenser conventionally provided inside the engine room is provided outside the vehicle body, the space inside the engine room is enlarged. In addition, since wind generated during traveling is blown to the condenser, heat is radiated without actively blowing the condenser.

[0007] Furthermore, by providing the condenser inclined in the front-rear direction, the height required for installation is reduced, and the condenser can be accommodated in a limited space between the vehicle body and the ground. The capacitor may be inclined to either the front side or the rear side. However, when the capacitor 2 is provided so as to descend from the front side to the rear side as shown in FIG. May not come out sufficiently.
As shown in FIG. 1, if the condenser 2 is inclined so as to rise from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle and the front end is provided so as to protrude downward, wind flowing between the condenser and the lower surface of the vehicle body is condensed. Can be sufficiently received and passed on the front side of the device, and the heat radiation efficiency is good.

Further, a capacitor guard may be provided so as to cover the periphery of the capacitor. As the capacitor guard, a wire net or the like can be considered. As a result, it is possible to prevent damage to the capacitor due to stone splashing caused by a tire or foreign matter when traveling on a rough road, and to prevent deterioration in heat radiation performance due to foreign matter adhesion. Further, by providing a condenser fan for blowing air to the condenser when the vehicle is stopped or the like, and covering the condenser and the condenser fan together with the condenser guard, objects falling on the road are prevented from being caught in the condenser fan.

Further, the condenser may be provided on an exhaust passage through which air in the vehicle compartment is exhausted. More specifically, an exhaust port from which the air in the vehicle compartment is exhausted is opened toward the condenser, and the air in the vehicle compartment exhausted from the exhaust port is passed through the condenser. Since the temperature of the exhaust air exhausted from the passenger compartment during cooling is lower than that of the outside air, if a condenser is provided on the exhaust path and heat exchange between the exhaust air and the refrigerant is performed as described above, heat exchange with the outside air can be achieved. The refrigerant is cooled efficiently.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the vehicle air conditioner of the present embodiment described below, the refrigerant system is made into a compact unit, which is supplied to an automobile assembly line so that it can be assembled to the rear of the vehicle body. FIG. 2 shows a vehicle C on which the vehicle air conditioner of the present embodiment is mounted. Reference numeral 10 denotes a cooling unit including an evaporator and a condenser, which will be described later. Reference numeral 12 denotes a generator that is driven by an engine 11 (not shown) (see FIG. 3) and serves as a power source of the cooling unit 10. Reference numeral 15 denotes cool air from the cooling unit 10. The duct to be sent, 16 is an electric wire, and 20 is a temperature control unit.
In this embodiment, a cooling unit 10 is installed at the rear of the vehicle C, and is connected to a temperature control unit 20 installed in the passenger compartment in front of the driver's seat by a duct 15 that passes through the floor or under the floor. Further, the electric power generated by the generator 12 is supplied to the cooling unit 10 via an electric wire 16 wired in a proper position on the vehicle body. The temperature control unit 20 is provided with a heater core, which will be described later, and performs heating operation by receiving supply of hot water branched from the engine cooling water system.

FIG. 3 shows a specific configuration of the vehicle air conditioner. First, the cooling unit 10 will be described. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a horizontally sealed compressor incorporating an electric motor 1a, 2 denotes a condenser, 3 denotes an expansion valve (expansion mechanism), 4 denotes an evaporator, 5 denotes a condenser fan,
Reference numeral 6 denotes an evaporator fan, 7 denotes a motor for driving the evaporator fan 6, 8 denotes a refrigerant pipe, and a cooling unit 10 is configured by a refrigerant system including these components.

The cooling unit 10 has a structure as shown in FIG. The expansion valve 3, the evaporator 4,
The inverter 14 is mounted, and the compressor 1 is mounted on the underside of the gantry 9. One side of the flat plate-shaped capacitor 2 is attached to one side in the longitudinal direction of the gantry 9. The condenser 2 is mounted in an inclined state as shown in the figure, and two condenser fans 5 are mounted on the left and right sides on the back side (lower side). The vehicle cooling unit 10 is mounted below the vehicle body bottom surface of the vehicle C and between the rear wheel Ca and the bumper Cb as shown in FIG. The condenser 2 is mounted to be inclined so as to protrude downward from the bottom surface of the vehicle body and to rise from the front to the rear of the vehicle body. The width of the condenser 2 is shorter than the width of the wheel. The compressor 1 is also located outside the vehicle body to prevent noise in the vehicle interior. Further, a wire mesh-shaped capacitor guard 13 covering both the capacitor 2 and the capacitor fan 5 is attached. A duct 15 is provided on the vehicle body, and the conditioned air (cool air) that has passed through the evaporator 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is sent to the temperature control unit 20 in front of the vehicle body.

Next, the temperature control unit 20 will be described. In the temperature control unit 20 shown in FIG. 5, reference numeral 21 is a casing, 22 is an outside air inlet, 23 is an inside air inlet, 24 is a blower fan, 25 is a heater core, 26
Is an air-conditioned air outlet. Also, as shown in FIG.
6a is a defrost outlet, 26b is a face outlet, 2
Reference numeral 6c is a foot outlet, and each outlet is provided with a defrost damper 27a, a face damper 27b, and a foot damper 27c. This temperature control unit 20
Is basically HVAC (Heating, Ventilati
An evaporator is removed from what is called an "on, and Air-Conditioning" unit, and a duct 15 for supplying cool air from the cooling unit 10 is connected instead. Therefore, basically, the conventional various HVA
Although it is possible to use the C unit as it is,
It is desirable to use at least as small as the evaporator has been removed.

The outside air inlet 22 or the inside air inlet 2
Internal / external air switching damper 2 for selectively taking in air from 3
8. An air mix damper 29 for adjusting the amount of air heated by the heater core 25 is provided.

Finally, an engine cooling water system 40 for supplying high-temperature hot water as a heat source for the heating operation to the heater core 25 will be briefly described. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 41 is a radiator, 42 is a radiator fan, 43 is a cooling water circulation pump, 44 is a thermostat, 45 is a bypass flow path, 46
Is a water valve. In the configuration shown in the figure, the water valve 4 is provided in the hot water supply flow path 47 branched from the downstream side of the cooling water circulation pump 43 and the engine 11 to the heater core 25.
The control unit 39 controls the flow rate by adjusting the opening of the water valve 46, and cools the engine 11 to introduce a part of the engine cooling water, which has become high temperature, to the heater core 25. The hot water supplied to the heater core 25 in this manner is
After being heated by exchanging heat with the conditioned air, it is returned to the engine cooling water system, sent to the radiator 41, merged with the cooled engine cooling water, and circulated again by the cooling water pump 43.

The controller 30 receives the output of the generator 12 and controls the motor 5a, the motor 7, the inverter 14, the blower fan 24, and the water valve 46.
Is provided.

Next, the operation of the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment will be described. The compressor 1 is an engine 1 for driving a vehicle.
It is operated with the supply of electric power from the generator 12 driven by 1 and sends out a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant by compressing a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant sent from the compressor 1 is guided to the condenser 2 through the refrigerant pipe 8.

In the condenser 2, the outside air sent by the condenser fan 5 exchanges heat with the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant supplied from the compressor 1, so that the gas refrigerant is deprived of heat by the outside air and condensed. It becomes a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. Here, when the vehicle is running, the wind generated during the running passes through the condenser 2, so that the condenser fan 5 may be stopped. At this time, since the condenser 2 is inclined so as to rise from the front side to the rear side, traveling wind is sufficiently received and passes through the condenser 2, so that heat radiation efficiency is good. The rotation speed of the condenser fan 5 is controlled by the control unit 30.

The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 2 is guided to a refrigerant pipe 8 and flows into an expansion valve 3 provided as an expansion mechanism. The expansion valve 3 decompresses and expands the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant into a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid (mist) refrigerant, which is further supplied to the evaporator 4 through the refrigerant pipe 8. In the evaporator 4, by operating the evaporator fan 6 attached to the other end of the motor 7, the air (inside air) in the vehicle compartment is sucked as conditioned air. The conditioned air thus sucked exchanges heat with the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant when passing through the evaporator 4. At this time,
Since the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant takes heat from the conditioned air and evaporates, the conditioned air is cooled and becomes cool air, and the liquid refrigerant becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. The conditioned air is introduced into the casing 21 of the temperature control unit 20 through the duct 15.

The cool air introduced into the temperature control unit 20 is blown out of the air outlet having the damper open to the interior of the vehicle. In a normal cooling operation, the face damper 27b is opened, and cool air is blown into the vehicle interior from the face outlet 26b. At this time, the inside / outside air switching damper 28 closes the outside air introduction port 22 to select the inside air introduction mode, and the air mix damper 29 completely closes the inlet of the heater core 25, so that the inside air and the cooling unit 10 sucked by the blower fan 24 are removed. Is supplied to the face outlet 26b without passing through the heater core 25. Such an operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner is generally called a “face blowing mode”.

In the middle period such as spring or autumn, the opening degree of the air mix damper 29 is appropriately adjusted so that the inside air sucked by the blower fan 24 and a part of the cool air supplied from the cooling unit 10 are heated by the heater core. 25 is set. As a result, the warm air heated through the heater core 25 and the cool air that does not pass can be merged on the downstream side, so that the temperature of the blown air can be adjusted according to the mixing ratio of the warm air and the cool air. it can.

Then, the air mix damper 29 is set at an intermediate opening degree, and the face damper 27b and the foot damper 27
When both of them are open, the so-called "head cold foot heat" is intended, such as blowing out cool air mainly not passing through the heater core 25 from the face outlet 26b and blowing out hot air mainly passing through the heater core 25 from the foot outlet 26c. Ballooning becomes possible. Such an operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner is generally called a “bi-level blowing mode”.

Next, a heating operation in winter will be described. In this case, if dehumidifying and heating is unnecessary, the cooling unit 1
0 is not performed, and therefore, no cool air is supplied from the duct 10 to the temperature control unit 20. During such a heating operation, the inlet of the heater core 25 is fully opened so that the entire amount of air taken in from the outside air inlet 22 or the inside air inlet 23 passes therethrough, and the foot damper 27c is opened to blow warm air to the feet of the occupant. . Such an operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner is generally called a “foot blowing mode”.

Next, when the humidity in the vehicle interior is high, a "defrost operation mode" is performed in which hot air is blown onto the windshield to remove fogging. In this mode, low-humidity, high-temperature conditioned air that is dehumidified and heated is blown. Therefore, the cooling unit 10 is operated to supply dehumidified cool air to the upstream side of the heater core 25. The entire amount of the cold air is supplied to the heater core 25.
, And is heated as low-humidity hot air, which is blown out from the defrost outlet 27a. At this time, if a sufficient amount of air cannot be obtained only with the cool air supplied from the cooling unit 10, the inside / outside air switching damper 28 is operated to operate the outside air inlet 2
2, the outside air having a lower humidity than the inside air may be sucked by the blower fan 24 or introduced as traveling wind, and added to the cold air supplied from the cooling unit 10.

In addition, besides this, the defrost air outlet 26
In general, a "foot / defroster blowing mode" is used in which warm air is blown out from both the air outlet a and the foot outlet 26c.
There is also an operation mode called.

As described above, in the vehicle air conditioner of the present embodiment, since the condenser 2 is provided so as to protrude below the bottom of the vehicle body, the space inside the vehicle body can be effectively used. Also, the compressor 1 and the condenser 2 conventionally provided inside the engine room
Is provided at the rear of the vehicle body, so that the space in the engine room is expanded, and the degree of freedom in designing the engine room is improved. Further, since the condenser 2 has moved rearward, air can easily flow in from the front of the vehicle, and the heat radiation performance of the radiator 41 improves. Further, in a conventional general vehicle air conditioner, an instrument panel is provided at a front portion of a cabin, and in recent years, there is an increasing tendency to install various mounted devices such as a car audio device and a car navigation system. ing. In this example, since the evaporator 4 which was conventionally provided in the front part of the vehicle interior is provided in the rear part of the vehicle body, the mounting space for the above-mentioned equipment is expanded. Further, since the cooling unit 10 is compactly unitized, it can be supplied to an automobile assembly line and easily assembled. Further, since the condenser 2 is inclined so as to rise from the front to the rear, it is easy to flow between the lower part of the wind vehicle body and the condenser 2 during traveling, and high heat radiation efficiency can be obtained. further,
The provision of the capacitor guard 13 can prevent damage to the capacitor 2 due to stones or dust scattered by the tire Ca, a reduction in heat radiation efficiency, and prevent a thing falling on the road from the condenser fan. 5 is prevented from contacting. Further, since the compressor 1 is provided outside the vehicle body, noise in the vehicle interior can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 6, an exhaust port 31 for room air may be provided in the gantry 9 so that exhaust gas is sucked into the condenser 2. During the cooling operation, the air exhausted from the vehicle interior has a lower temperature than the air outside the vehicle interior, so that the refrigerant can be cooled more efficiently. Further, fans are attached to both ends of the motor 7 on both shafts, the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4 are provided in parallel, and the motor 7 is arranged between them. The motor 7 may simultaneously blow the condenser 2 and the evaporator 4. Furthermore, the cooling unit 10 as described above may be provided at any place such as the front part as well as the rear part as long as it is below the vehicle bottom. In addition,
The direction of the inclination is not limited to the above example. As shown in FIG. 7, the condenser 2 is provided so as to descend from the front side of the vehicle toward the rear side, and the rear end portion is formed from the bottom of the vehicle. It may be provided projecting downward.

[0028]

As described above, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, since the condenser is provided so as to protrude below the bottom of the vehicle body, the space of the condenser conventionally provided inside the engine room is reduced. It can be used for other purposes, and the design flexibility in the engine room is improved. Further, since the condenser moves rearward, air can easily flow in from the front of the vehicle, and the radiator performance is improved. In addition, since the condenser is inclined so as to rise from the front to the rear, wind accompanying traveling can easily flow between the bottom of the vehicle body and the condenser, and high heat radiation efficiency can be obtained. In addition, the provision of a capacitor guard prevents damage to the capacitor due to stones and dust that are hit by the tires, reduces the heat dissipation efficiency, and prevents contact of the capacitor fan with humans and animals. Is done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a cooling unit of an air conditioner for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted, (a) is a rear view of the vehicle, and (b) is a side view of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an arrangement state of the vehicle air conditioner in a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cooling unit of the vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a temperature control unit of the vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing another example of the cooling unit.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing another example of the cooling unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 2 Condenser 3 Expansion valve (expansion mechanism) 4 Evaporator 8 Refrigerant piping 13 Condenser guard C Vehicle

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takahisa Hirano 3-1-1 Asahicho, Nishibiwajima-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Air Conditioning Works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Address: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Air Conditioner Works (72) Inventor: Fumio Kondo 1st, Takamichi, Iwazuka-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Pref.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for delivering a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant, a condenser for exchanging heat between the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant and the outside air, an expansion mechanism for reducing and expanding the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and a low-temperature and low-pressure An evaporator for exchanging heat between the liquid refrigerant and vehicle interior air is connected by a refrigerant pipe to form a refrigeration cycle, wherein the condenser is provided below the bottom of the vehicle body. An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: 2. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the condenser has a plate shape, and is inclined so as to rise from a front side to a rear side of the vehicle, and a front end portion is a bottom surface of the vehicle body. An air conditioner for a vehicle characterized by being provided so as to protrude downward from a vehicle. 3. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a condenser guard covering a periphery of the condenser. 4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the condenser is provided on an exhaust path through which air in the vehicle compartment is exhausted. Harmony equipment.